Arsenal Football Club - The Glorious History 1886 to 1945 Arsenal Football Club The Glorious History 1886 - 1945 * Please be aware that any derogatory remarks made during these history pages about Tottenham Hotspur are purely intentional and are meant to offend any supporters of the said club as much as is legally possible. The author would also like to take this opportunity to thank all Tottenham supporters worldwide for giving us their First Division place in 1919, he would also like to gloat at never giving it back! Oh, thanks for Pat Jennings as well!! 1886 "Royal Arsenal" is Born In approximately October 1886, the arrival of two Nottingham Forest players Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates was the catalyst that David Danskin from Kirkcaldy in Fife needed to create a works football team at the Woolwich Arsenal. Fifteen players were recruited, and all contributed towards the purchase of their first football. As one of the workshops within the Arsenal was called Dial Square, the name was chosen to represent the team.

The first game of the new club was against a team called Eastern Wanderers on the 11th December 1886. the game was played on a piece of open ground that someone had found on the Isle of Dogs. Apparently the pitch (if it could be called that) was shapeless with one portion being described as a ditch by some and as an open sewer by others.. Still, history says that Dial Square won the game 6-0. This result filled the players with enthusiasm and resulted in a meeting at the Royal Oak, next to Woolwich Arsenal Station, on Christmas day 1886. The meeting was called to solve three major problems. These problems were, a shortage of name, kit and somewhere to play. Apparently, no-one was happy with the name Dial Square, and a combination of Royal Oak and Woolwich Arsenal resulted in the regal sounding name Royal Arsenal which was met by approval from all. The decision for choice of kit was almost as easy, Fred Beardsley wrote to Nottingham Forest asking for help. Forest generously sent Beardsley a complete set of red shirts and a ball. Plumstead Common recreation area as home venue was the third decision arrived at on that fateful Christmas day.

1887 Royal Arsenal v Erith The first official fixture that Royal Arsenal played at Plumstead Common was against Erith. The final result was a 6-1 home victory. 1888 Royal Arsenal move from Plumstead Common to Manor Field Manor Field is affectionately re-named Manor Ground for purposes of grandness! 1890 Royal Arsenal win their first trophies! Royal Arsenal won the Kent Senior Cup, the Kent Junior Cup, and more significantly, the London Charity Cup. The latter was concluded with a 3-1 win over Old Westminsters at the Manor Ground in front of 10,000 people. 1891 Royal Arsenal Move again After the cup successes of 1990, Royal Arsenal decided to move just across Plumstead High Street, to a new ground which already had a stand, terraces and dressing rooms - the Invicta 1891 Name changed to "Woolwich Arsenal" 1893 Greedy Landlord tries to cash in on new success!!

A home crowd of 12,000 people against Scottish Champions Hearts combined with Woolwich Arsenal's election to the Football League (when the size was increased from 12 to 15 teams) resulted in a rent increase from �200 to �350 per annum. Woolwich Arsenal could not afford this exorbitant request, and were left with no alternative but to repurchase the old Manor Ground. They formed a limited liability company with a nominal capital of 4,000 �1.00 shares. In all, 860 people subscribed for 1,552 shares, the largest shareholder (50 shares) was a local coffee house proprietor . With the help of supporters, the team worked throughout the summer to get the ground ready for the Second Division. 1896 Woolwich Arsenal suffer 0-8 defeat at the hands of Loughborough 1900 Woolwich Arsenal get revenge by thrashing Loughborough 12-0 1904 Woolwich Arsenal Promoted!

The arrival of Harry Bradshaw as manager in 1901 resulted in a 4th position, followed by 3rd, and 2nd in 1904 gaining Woolwich Arsenal promotion to the Football League First Division. 1910 Henry Norris Becomes Woolwich Arsenal Manager 1913 Woolwich Arsenal Are Highbury bound.... Woolwich Arsenal relegated after only winning three games all season. Exactly how Highbury came into reckoning when a move was decided upon is not known. In the end though, Woolwich Arsenal paid a massive �20,000 for a mere 21-year lease and agreed not to stage any matches on Good Friday and Christmas Day (due to the property being leased from St Johns College of Divinity)(these restrictions were lifted in 1925 when the club paid another �64,000 to buy the whole site outright). The following year, the serious work started on the ground. The pitch was levelled (the north end had to be raised eleven feet, the south lowered five), a new grandstand was partially built and turnstiles and terracing installed. It cost another �80,000.

Cash at the time though was so short that the builder agreed to take a percentage of the gate money until he was paid for his work..... 1914 Name changed from "Woolwich Arsenal" to "Arsenal" 1919 Henry Norris engineers Arsenal Promotion to Division 1 at expense of Tottenham despite being 5th in Division 2! (Gotta Laugh) In 1919 the Football League decided to extend the First Division from 20 to 22 clubs. The usual procedure had been to simply re-elect the bottom clubs from the previous season and to promote the top clubs from the Second Division. This indeed was what almost everyone assumed (and were told) would happen. By chance, two other London clubs, Chelsea and Tottenham had finished 19th and 20th in the First Division in 1915, with Arsenal finishing 5th in the Second. When the League AGM was convened, Norris' strategy became clear. It must have been agreed with League President John McKenna, a close friend of Norris and the owner of Liverpool in advance (Manchester United came 17th in Division 1 after rigging their last game (2-0) against Liverpool to finish above Chelsea).

Firstly, Chelsea were detached from Tottenham and their position taken separately. There was no vote, and the fact that Chelsea would have finished third from bottom in 1915 had Liverpool beaten United in the fixed match undoubtedly influenced the meeting. MeKenna proposed that they be re-elected on the nod and this was accepted. Then Derby and Preston, first and second in the Second Division in 1914-15, were elected into the First Division without debate. Then came the bombshell. McKenna made a brief speech recommending that Arsenal be given the remaining First Division place because of their service to the league and their longevity , particularly pointing out that Arsenal had been in the League 15 years longer than Tottenham. To this day, it is impossible to explain what actually went on at that AGM. The arguments for Arsenal's promotion were complete nonsense. The committee took their vote, and Arsenal received 18 votes out of a possible 41, while Tottenham only received 8. Additionally, for many years there were rumours of significant amounts of money changing hands, but to this day, nothing has ever been proven.

Hence, Arsenal were promoted from 5th place in the Second Division while neither 4th, or 3rd had a realistic chance in the vote, and Tottenham were relegated...... This moment started a feud between the two clubs that has continued on ever since! 1925 Herbert Chapman becomes Arsenal Manager for 2,000 p.a. Arsenal advertised their manager's job in "The Athletic News" on 11th May 1925. Herbert Chapman however had already been approached for the job. Henry Norris (by now) the Arsenal Chairman offered him �2,000 a year to take the job, easily the highest salary in the game, and Chapman needed little persuading! Some of Herberts inovations included Changing "Gillespie Road" underground train station to "Arsenal". This was an amazing coup at the time, because it resulted in millions of tickets, maps and signage being changed and was actually a huge operation. To this day, Arsenal are the ONLY Football team to have a station named after them. Herbert also advocated flood-lighting, artificial pitches and instigated placing numbers on players backs. 1927 Arsenal Appear in the F.A.

Cup Final for the first time On 23rd April 1927, Arsenal met Cardiff City in the F.A. Cup Final at Wembley's Empire Stadium. The team was: Lewis, Parker, Kennedy, Baker, Butler, John, Hulme, Buchan, Brain, Blyth, Hoar. Unfortunately, the visit was not a happy one, as Arsenal were defeated 1-0 with Hugh Ferguson scoring the all important goal for Cardiff. The day goes down in Football history for being the only time that the F.A. Cup has left England. 1930 Arsenal WIN the F.A. Cup Final for the first time Saturday 26th April 1930. After 44 years, Arsenal finally achieved their first success. It was the day that Arsenal wrote themselves into the record books. The 55th F.A. Cup Final saw Arsenal defeat Huddersfield Town (the dominant team of the late 20's) 2-0 infront of a crowd of 92,488 with goals from Alex James in the 17th minute and Jack Lambert in the 83rd minute.

The team was: Preedy, Parker, Hapgood, Baker, Seddon, John, Hulme, Jack, Lambert, James, Bastin. The game will also be remembered for the vivid image of the airship Graf Zeppelin flying 2,000 feet above Wembley during the first half, and King George handing over the trophy. The victory signalled the start of a period when Arsenal completely dominated English football and gained recognition worldwide during a remarkable era. The Road to the First F.A. Cup OPPOSITION 54 2nd In the F.A. Cup Final, Arsenal were equally unlucky being defeated 2-1 by Newcastle with Bob John scoring Arsenal's only goal. The Arsenal team for the final comprised of: Moss, Parker, Hapgood, Jones, Roberts, Male, Hulme, Jack, Lambert, Bastin and John. 1932 Arsenal open new West Stand The West Stand cost �45,000 and was officially opened by the Prince of Wales (later the Duke of Windsor) on the 10th December 1932.

It was actually first used on the 12th November for a game against Chelsea (Arsenal won 1-0) and was, by a large margin, the grandest and most expensive structure on any league ground at the time. It incorporated three flats, an electronic lift, and had 4,100 seats and the lower lever, which was originally all standing, could in theory hold another 20,000. While the West Stand was being built, a story that has become a bit of folk-lore at Highbury occurred. Local inhabitants were encouraged to bring along their rubbish to help in the process of raising up the banking on all four sides of the ground. One coal merchant backed up too close to the hole in the North Bank and saw his hourse and cart disappear into the cavity. The animal was so badly injured that it had to be destroyed and it is buried where it fell, in the middle of the North Bank terracing. 1933 Herbert Chapman's New Shirts Herbert Chapman decides before the Liverpool game at Highbury to add white sleeves to our red shirts to add distinction. 1933 / 4 / 5 Arsenal win THREE First Division Championships in consecutive years!!

The Final standings for the three glorious Football League championship years were as follows: P 58 1934 - 1935 Arsenal were awarded a crest by the Football League for this achievement that still hangs outside the directors offices in Highbury's East Stand to this day. 1934 / 5 Ted Drake breaks Arsenal scoring record. Ted Drake scored 42 League goals. He scored 4 goals against Birmingham, Chelsea (and in the next game) Wolverhampton and Middlesborough. His mere hat-tricks came against Liverpool, Tottenham (suffer hehehe) and Leicester City. He also scored 1 goal in the F.A. Cup. against Brighton and Hove Albion and 1 goal against Manchester City in a 4-0 Charity Shield victory, bringing his seasons total to 44 goals. 1935 Highbury Record Attendance set. On the 9th March 1935 Arsenal welcomed visitors Sunderland to Highbury. Unfortuanately the 73,295 RECORD ATTENDANCE were only thrilled with the cramped conditions as the final score was 0-0. 1935 Ted Drake scores 7!!!

On December 14th 1935 Ted Drake Scored all SEVEN goals in Arsenal's 7-1 victory against Aston Villa at Villa Park in Birminham. The record still stands to this day as the greatest number of goals scored in a Football League First Division (Premier League) game by an individual. For the first quarter hour Villa were the better team, but at half-time they went in 3-0 down and Drake had a hat-trick. All the goals were classic Arsenal - a long ball from Pat Beasley for Drake to run on to, a long pass from Bastin which Drake picked up and ran with to the edge of the area before scoring, and a rebound from a Pat Beasley shot from the wing. At the end of an hour Drake had a double hat-trick and Arsenal were 6-0 up. This time the goals came from a mistake from Villa centre half Tommy Griffiths, who assumed a ball was going over the dead ball line only to see it rebound off the post for Drake, another pass from Bastin to Drake and an instant return from a bad goalkeeping clearance.

Drake was controlling the ball perfectly, beating defenders at will and shooting so accurately that the Villa Keeper, Merson, had no chance. It was the exhibition of a complete centre forward. By this time the entire Villa half back line was marking Drake, but it made little difference for his seventh shot actually hit the bar and bounced down to be cleared. It was one of only two goal attempts of the whole afternoon which missed it's mark (the other was saved). Villa did score once, but Drake had the final word in the last minute with yet another goal from a bastin cross-field pass; seven goals away from home with just nine shots. 1936 Arsenal WIN the F.A. Cup Final for the second time Saturday 25th April 1936. Arsenal defeated Sheffield United 1-0 at Wembley with a goal from Ted Drake in the 74th minute from a Cliff Bastin clearance. Drake was unable to get off the floor after scoring the goal due to pain from an injured knee. When he finally got up, he remained on the field without actually taking part in the remainder of the game.

The team for the final was: Wilson, Male, Hapgood, Crayston, Roberts, Copping, Hulme, Bowden, Drake, James and Bastin. Incidentally, Arsenal had previously been fined �250 by the Football League for resting players (Roberts and Drake) and fielding less than their most competative team between F.A. Cup ties (once Arsenal found that they were unable to win the First Division for the 4th consecutive time). The Road to the Second F.A. Cup OPPOSITION 52 1st Once again, Ted Drake was the highest scorer with 17 goals dispite missing 15 league games through injury, while Cliff Bastin contributed 15 goals. This Championship signalled the end of a quite remarkable era when Arsenal became the most recognised football team in the world!! 1939 Hollywood comes to North London?! The last game at Highbury before the Second World War was against Brentford on the 6th May 1939 and Arsenal won 2-0 with goals from Alf Kirchen and Ted Drake, but it was MORE noteable for the fact that it was used to make the film "The Arsenal Stadium Mystery" .

The story centres around a footballer who dies by poisoning during a game at Highbury. Scotland Yard investigate, and all the Arsenal and "Trojan" players come under suspicion. The film provides some wonderful footage of the great pre-war Arsenal team, both on and off the pitch. See the ground, dressing rooms and other fascinating "behind-the-scenes" views of the East Stand. Brentford in unusual change strip, played the fictional part of "The Trojans" and several Arsenal personalities took part in the film, including Cliff Bastin, Tom Whittaker and George Allison. 1939 World War 2 brings League Football to a standstill! With the close of the 1938-9 season, Arsenal were in the midst of a huge financial crisis. The re-building of the ground in the mid 30's had resulted in a huge debt burden with crippling interest payments. Crowds of 40,000 were required simply to break even. By August 1939, Arsenal had only �3 and 92 pence (metricised) in the bank.

Luckily, the post war football boom between 1945 and 1952 when attendances soared, happily solved the clubs financial problems. 1939 - 45 World War 2 Claims 9 Arsenal Players.... The War was to prove a tragic time for a heavily bombed Highbury. No less than 9 of the 42 professionals on the books in 1939 failed to survive it, the highest loss of any club. The nine players to lose their lives were, Henry Cook, Bobby Daniel, William Dean, Hugh Glass, Leslie Lack, William Parr, Sidney Pugh, Herbie Roberts and Cyril Tooze. This history was written by Steve Gleiber. Frankly, I spent weeks reading Arsenal history books, watching Arsenal videos and listening to Arsenal tapes to bring this to you, so I'm adding my little � symbol to it ok! Please do not copy, distribute or reproduce this history without my permission.

Arsenal - Historical Football Kits Historical Football Kits 1887-1889 a e r s 1889-1890 n r s 1894-1899 a i n s 1899-1900 a i s Collared shirts also appeared in 1901 1905-1906 a e p s 1906-1908 a e s 1920-1928 a e m n 1928-1929 m 1931-Feb 1933 e l n March-April 1933 March 1933-'35 a e l p 1935-1943 a e n Aug-Nov 1957 e f g l Nov 57-May 58 i Shirt appeared occasionally until 1962 1960-1961 k l 1961-1963 e h n u Long sleeved shirts also appeared 1963 -Dec 64 e h n u Dec 1964 l

 Also worn with white stockings Umbro Background Arsenal were originally formed as Dial Square FC in 1886 by workers at the Woolwich armaments factory in South London.

The name was changed to the more imposing Royal Arsenal a few months after their formation. It has been widely reported that the club were given a set of Garibaldi Red shirts by Nottingham Forest but research by Mark Andrews and Andy Kelly has cast doubt on this. One of Arsenal's founders was Fred Beardsley, a native of Nottingham who was, according to his obituary had the idea of adopting Forest's colours. As an amateur, Beardsley continued to turn out for Forest in cup games and this may have given rise to the apocryphal story. In an interview published in 1938, Beardsley described the team's first strip as "red shirts, white three-quarter master pants, black stockings and caps." He also mentioned that Forest donated Arsenal's first football. Having turned professional in 1891, the club found themselves ostracised by their amateur peers (association football in the metropolitan area was still dominated by gentlemen-players from the upper classes) and expelled from the London FA.

Their initial attempts to form a professional league foundered (it would be another two years before the Southern League was formed) so, after a gruelling 1892-93 season of friendly matches against teams (including Football League sides) from the north, midlands and Scotland they applied to join the Football League. To this end the club became a limited company in 1893 and were required to drop "Royal" from their title. As Woolwich Arsenal, their application was successful and they became the first club from south of Birmingham to play in the Football League. According to the Official History, the team experimented with red and blue striped shirts for the 1895-96 season and photographs of two key players, Harry Storer and Caesar Jenkyns appear to show these tops. In his extensive research, however, Mark Andrews found no contemporary press reports of the team wearing stripes and all the team photographs of the period show the regular, plain tops. We have now concluded that the Official History is incorrect on this point and that the surviving photographs show shirts worn in 1892 when the team changed for a game with Nottingham Forest.

A crest, based on the civic arms of Woolwich, was adopted around 1888 according to the official history but work by Andrews and Kelly has established that this is impossible as the municipal crest was not designed until 1901. It appears that this is one of several innaccuracies perpetuated by the club's vice-chairman, Arthur Kennedy, in articles he wrote about the club's origins and which then passed into the accepted history. In fact it appeared just once, in an article written by Kennedy for The Book of Football 1904-05. Arsenal won promotion to the First Division in 1904 and survived for nine years until they were relegated 1913. That year the club left Plumstead in south-east London to move to Highbury despite vigorous protests from Tottenham Hotspur. When League football resumed after the First World War in 1919 the First Division was expanded. Arsenal's chairman, Sir Henry Norris, contrived to have his club (who had finished fifth in Division Two in 1915) replace Tottenham (bottom of Division One). After several mediocre seasons, Arsenal appointed Herbert Chapman as manager.

Having previously guided Huddersfield Town to two of their three successive League titles, Chapman set about transforming Arsenal from an average First Division club into one of the great names in world football. He had the nearby underground station renamed "Arsenal", pioneered the use of shirt numbers and introduced the now famous white sleeves. Andrews and Kelly have discovered that the first version of this iconic kit consisted of white cricket shirts (their change kit at the time) worn with thin, red sleeveless pullovers made by Hollins & Co of Nottingham in viyela, a mixture of merino wool and cotton. This outfit proved troublesome to wash so conventional flannel shirts were introduced, probably at the start of the 1933-34 season. Under Chapman's guidance the club went on to dominate English football over the following decade. Although crests were not worn in league games, they did appear in FA Cup finals, the first being a monogram in 1927 followed, in 1930, by a version with a cannon.

The FA Cup became Arsenal's first major trophy in 1930 and their first League Championship in 1931 was followed by a further four titles and another FA Cup over the next seven years. A new art deco crest was designed and appeared on the shirts worn in the 1932 FA Cup Final and other pre-war finals. A slightly different version appeared prominently in the club's fabled marbled halls, over the East Stand and in the boardroom. All the bespoke shirts worn in the pre-war finals were made by Bukta and it seems likely that this company also made their regular strips. After the interruption caused by the Second World War, Tom Whittaker forged another great team winning two more titles (1948 and 1953) and an FA Cup (1950) with the 1951-52 season also seeing the Gunners narrowly miss the elusive double, runners up in both league and FA Cup. The crest worn in the 1950 and 1952 finals was slightly different to the pre-war version and were made by Hope Brothers. Whittaker's death in 1956 presaged a barren 14 years.

Around 1957 Arsenal adopted the modern Umbro continental style shirts but the older style, with buttoned collars and long sleeves was used until at least 1962 in cold weather. Club physiotherapist Bertie Mee took over as manager in 1966 and in 1967, after two seasons wearing plain red shirts, the classic Gunners' strip was reintroduced, now enhanced by a smart new crest consisting of a cannon. Mee had tried to reintroduce these the previous season but the deadline for registration had passed: they were however, worn in the FA Cup. (The plain red shirts reappeared in September 1968 against West Brom and Newcastle.) Defeat in the League Cup final of 1969 at the hands of Third Division Swindon did not bode well but a year later Arsenal captured their first European trophy, winning the Inter-City Fairs Cup against Anderlecht. The following season Arsenal achieved the domestic "double," clinching the League championship with a 1-0 win over Tottenham. Days later a Charlie George goal won the FA cup in extra time at Wembley against Liverpool.

Despite reaching the FA Cup final again in 1972 and finishing second in the league the following season Arsenal became a mediocre side during the mid seventies. Towards the end of the decade Terry Neill and Don Howe achieved some success when Arsenal reached the FA Cup final in 3 successive seasons. This coincided with a slight modification to the crest, which now had "AFC" superimposed on three, stacked cannonballs, a motif now repeated on the shorts. Only the middle visit to Wembley, in 1979, was triumphant, a thrilling last minute 3-2 victory against Manchester United. The following season saw cup heartbreak when Arsenal lost the FA Cup final to West Ham, and 4 days later the European Cup Winners Cup final to Valencia on penalties. In the 1985-86 season the legend "Centenary Year 1985" was added to the crest. After George Graham took over in 1986, Arsenal won six major trophies in the next eight years.

A League Cup triumph in 1987 was built upon, and in 1989 the League Championship returned to Highbury after an 18 year absence when Arsenal pipped Liverpool to the title on goals scored. In the most exciting finish to the league season ever witnessed in English football the final, deciding match at Anfield was won 2-0, the decisive second goal coming in injury time. Another championship followed two years later when Arsenal lost only one league game and conceded just 18 goals in 38 matches. In 1990 the club adopted the crest first designed in 1949 and now worn on the pitch for the first time. In the Premiership's inaugural year 1992-93 Arsenal became the first team ever to win both domestic cups in the same season. The following year the European Cup Winners' Cup was won in Copenhagen. Despite the cup successes, Arsenal's league results remained ordinary and following a scandal over illicit transfer payments, Graham was sacked in the middle of the 1994-95 season.

Also in 1994, the crest was altered to more subtle colouring which, with slight modifications in 1995 and 1998, appeared on a navy shield until 2000. After a period of turbulence, Frenchman Arsene Wenger was confirmed as Arsenal's new manager at the end of September 1996. Wenger set about transforming Arsenal's traditional cautious playing style. In 1998 Arsenal won the double for the second time, eclipsing Manchester United after trailing them by 13 points in January. The second half of the double, the FA Cup, was achieved with a comfortable 2-0 win against Newcastle at Wembley in May. The following season Arsenal fell just short of repeating their triumph, losing unluckily in the FA Cup semi-final in extra time to Manchester United and missing out on the title to the same deadly rivals by just one point. As the new millennium approached, the balance of power between Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and Wenger's Arsenal tipped towards the Londoners.

In 2001 the crest was modified again for commercial reasons with solid yellow replacing the gold tones and the club motto rendered in clearer script to make the whole image easier to reproduce but this version was not applied to the team's shirts. Because Arsenal's crest had evolved over many years, incorporating design elements from several sources, the club was unable to register copyright. To overcome this and to emphasise the renaissance of the club, a new crest was introduced in 2002, which combined Arsenal's traditional colours with metallic gold, all of which would be featured in Nike's kits over the following seasons. Another double was achieved in 2002 and in 2004, the Gunners won the Premiership title without being defeated, a feat that has not been achieved since Preston North End won the first ever League title in 1888, undefeated in 18 games. Arsenal were unbeaten in 38 League matches. A year later club won the FA Cup in a penalty shoot-out against Manchester United, the first time the competition had been decided in this way.

In June 2005 the club announced that they would play in dark "red currant" jerseys for one season to mark their last season at Highbury. The marketing campaign asserted that the colour was based on the dark, plum coloured shirts worn when the team moved to north London, with a poorly colourised team photograph from the period in support. With help from Mark Andrews and others, HFK is now convinced that there is no truth in this story and the team has always worn bright red shirts. The dark appearance of their early tops is due to the photographic emulsions in use at the time, which were over sensitive to red light. The following season a more traditional strip was introduced, restoring white sleeves (with metallic gold trim on the body) and in 2008, Nike took something of a risk by reintroducing predominently red shirts with white and "red currant" trim. Nike's 2010 strip marked a popular return to tradition with a recreation of the iconic shirt from the Seventies, matched by a similarly bold but simple outfit for the club's 125th anniversary in 2011-12. For this occasion a special crest was introduced.

This featured 15 oak leaves (representing the fifteen founders of the club who met in the Royal Oak public house), 15 laurel leaves (taken from the threepenny bits each paid to establish the club) and the club's first motto, "Forward." Back-to-back FA Cup wins in 2014 and 2015 meant that Arsenal had won the trophy for a record 12 times while Arsene Wenger equalled the individual record of Aston Villa's manager George Ramsay, set between 1887 and 1920, of six wins. You are welcome to Contact Me with corrections and additions. Sources Fansite has an entertaining club history and comprehensive stats. See also the useful Kit History section on the Arsenal Website. a The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal (Phil Soar & Martin Tyler 1998) b Photograph - source unknown k The Big Book of Football Champions 1960-61 provided by Simon Monks l Dick Waite n Keith Ellis (HFK Research Associate) o Christopher Worrall Arsenal 3-0 Manchester United - BBC Sport Arsenal 3-0 Manchester United Read more about sharing.

Mesut Ozil scored and provided an assist in a Premier League game for the fourth time. Arsenal stunned Manchester United with three goals in the opening 20 minutes as the Gunners moved up to second in the Premier League table. United had no answer to Arsenal's opening burst as Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil scored twice in 74 seconds. Sanchez added a third from 18 yards as the Gunners beat United for just the second time in 14 league meetings. United improved after the break but Arsenal substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hit the crossbar late on. Defeat leaves Louis van Gaal's side in third place, behind Arsenal on goal difference. Rodgers could not fool Liverpool fans any longer - Lawrenson Wenger relieves the pressure Arsenal's Champions League defeat at home to Olympiakos in midweek left them in danger of failing to reach the last 16 and manager Arsene Wenger in the face of heavy criticism. Wenger was forced to defend his selection of goalkeeper David Ospina, describing recent criticism as "not analysis of football". He also called the press "boring". But his side were anything but in an opening half which saw them tear Manchester United apart, almost at will.

With their first real attack Sanchez back-heeled in at the near post after good work from Aaron Ramsey and Ozil, and the Germany playmaker then added the second a minute later after Walcott ran at a struggling defence. Sanchez shrugged Matteo Darmian aside to add his second with a brilliant 18-yard strike which brought up an unwanted record for the visitors, as they conceded three goals in the opening 20 minutes of a Premier League game for the first time. And it should have been four just after the half-hour mark as Ramsey volleyed wide from close range when completely unmarked. With the game won, Arsenal failed to repeat their attacking display in the second half until substitute Oxlade-Chamberlain chipped David de Gea and hit the crossbar in injury time. The Gunners are now just two points behind leaders Manchester City going into a two-week international break which had the potential to be uncomfortable for their fans and for Wenger. Did Van Gaal get team selection wrong? Louis van Gaal may have spent over £250m since taking charge at Old Trafford, but he still appears to have glaring holes in his squad.

The decision to play winger Ashley Young at left-back, and the continuing selection of Daley Blind at centre-back, were both exposed by Arsenal's electric start. Blind played most of his first season at United in a deep midfield role and a lack of pace and strength were both in evidence against Walcott and Sanchez. Arsenal were utterly dominant during the opening 15 minutes. Even Chris Smalling - who has been lauded for his early season form - was too slow to close down Sanchez as he bent in the third goal after easily outwitting Darmian. In front of United's ragged back four, partnering Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger in midfield also proved an error. Carrick, 34, and Schweinsteiger, 31, are both masters at keeping possession but in an opening 15 minutes in which Arsenal totally dominated the ball, their lack of pace against the counter-attack was exposed all too easily. Morgan Schneiderlin - left on the bench - may have been a better option to break up play as Arsenal's Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin bossed the midfield.

The anonymous Memphis Depay and Darmian were hauled off at the break as Marouane Fellaini belatedly stiffened the centre and Wayne Rooney was moved out to the left wing. The changes worked - as United had 72.5% of second-half possession - but they came far too late to affect the result. The recalled Petr Cech - who made a good save to deny Anthony Martial just before half-time - saved well from Schweinsteiger late on, but United rarely threatened. What a weekend for City Manchester City started the weekend a point behind leaders United, and level on goal difference. But Arsenal's opening burst, coupled with City's 6-1 thrashing of Newcastle, saw the men in blue open up a two-point lead at the top of the table, eight goals better off than United. Man of the match: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) The Arsenal forward made it six goals in three games this week and was a tireless menace throughout Manager reaction Media playback is not supported on this device Our pace surprised United - Wenger Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: "We did not give them any chances to score and that was vital. We surprised them with our start.

"From Petr Cech to Theo Walcott we only had superb performances. I have managed many strong teams and never had one that played 60 games at the same level. You have to accept that we are human beings. "I've been at the club for 19 years and I know what you want is a strong response in a big game when you have a big disappointment. "We are in it, we are two points off the league leaders, Manchester City, so I hope that result today will give us belief to fight for it." Media playback is not supported on this device Man Utd lacked will to win - Van Gaal Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal: "It was a very bad start, without aggression and the will to win. That is the first time I have seen that from my team. I did not expect that. "We have won our last four matches - I gave the players a day off because they were tired. On Saturday the training was normal, I was very amazed to see that. "When you give a team like Arsenal so much space to play football, then you know that you shall lose. "But all teams will have a dip." What next? Both sides have a fortnight off thanks to the upcoming international break.

Arsenal resume their Premier League campaign at Watford on 17 October, while United face Everton at Goodison Park on the same date. 34 Coquelin Booked at 51mins 19 Cazorla 11 Özil Substituted for Oxlade-Chamberlain at 75'minutes 17 Sánchez Substituted for Gibbs at 81'minutes 14 Walcott Substituted for Giroud at 75'minutes Substitutes 36 Darmian Booked at 30minsSubstituted for A Valencia at 45'minutes 12 Smalling 18 Young Booked at 22mins 16 Carrick 8 Mata Substituted for Wilson at 82'minutes 10 Rooney Booked at 55mins 7 Depay Substituted for Fellaini at 45'minutes 9 Martial

Question: Which football league side were originally called Dial Square
Answer: Arsenal